Prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as treatment for major depression: study design and methodology of a multicenter triple blind randomized placebo controlled trial (DepressionDC).

Unlabelled: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed as novel treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) based on clinical pilot studies as well as randomized controlled monocentric trials. The DepressionDC trial is a triple-blind (blinding of rater, operator and patient), randomized, placebo controlled multicenter trial investigating the efficacy and safety of prefrontal tDCS used as additive treatment in MDD patients who have not responded to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). At 5 study sites, 152 patients with MDD receive a 6-weeks treatment with active tDCS (anode F3 and cathode F4, 2 mA intensity, 30 min/day) or sham tDCS add-on to a stable antidepressant medication with an SSRI.

Outcome of gastric cancer in the elderly: a population-based evaluation of the Munich Cancer Registry.

Background: Gastric cancer accounts for 5 % of cancer deaths. Proportions of older stomach cancer patients are increasing. Despite the still poor prognosis, standardised treatment has achieved improvements; nonetheless it is questionable whether all age groups have benefitted.

Level of hospital care and outcome of gastric cancer: a population-based evaluation of the Munich Cancer Registry.

Background: Gastric cancer accounts for 5 % of cancer deaths. Successful implementation of guideline-recommended treatment procedures should result in population-based outcome improvements despite the still poor prognosis. In this context, the objective of this study was to compare the outcome of gastric cancer by different levels of hospital care.

A multi-center study on the regenerative effects of erythropoietin in burn and scalding injuries: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Although it was initially assumed that erythropoietin (EPO) was a hormone that only affected erythropoiesis, it has now been proposed that EPO plays an additional key role in the regulation of acute and chronic tissue damage.

Methods/design: This is a large, prospective, randomized, double-blind, multi-center study, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and fully approved by the designated ethics committee. The trial, which is to investigate the effects of EPO in severely burned patients, is in its recruitment phase and is being carried out in 13 German burn care centers.

CORDIAL: cognitive rehabilitation and cognitive-behavioral treatment for early dementia in Alzheimer disease: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.

Cognitive rehabilitation (CR) is a promising treatment approach for older adults with dementia because it aims at supporting the management of day-to-day problems. There is insufficient evidence regarding whether CR provides clinically meaningful benefits. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptance, efficacy, and usefulness of a CR intervention in a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial on 201 patients with mild dementia in Alzheimer disease and their carers.

Delayed response of insulin-stimulated fluorine-18 deoxyglucose uptake in glucose transporter-4-null mice hearts.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the time course of insulin-stimulated myocardial glucose uptake (MGU) in mice that had undergone ablation of glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4).

Background: The relative importance of GLUT4, the most abundant insulin-responsive glucose transporter, to modulate myocardial glucose metabolism is not well defined.

Methods: Myocardial glucose uptake was assessed at various time points after glucose (1 mg/g) and insulin (8 mU/g) injection in GLUT4-null (G4N) (n = 48) and wild-type (WT) (n = 48) mice with (18)F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) using in vivo positron emission tomography (PET), in vitro gamma-counter biodistribution, and isolated, perfused hearts.